


How could you tell me that I'm great when they laughed at me?

by LonelyAngel



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Bullying, Gender Issues, High School, Homophobic Language, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 22:22:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11655906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyAngel/pseuds/LonelyAngel
Summary: Tyler is a boy, but he feels like a girl. He loves to wear make up and women's clothes, but he gets bullied by the other students and his teacher.His friend Josh is helping him, but he can't stop the bullying.





	How could you tell me that I'm great when they laughed at me?

Having gender issues wasn't easy. Tyler was a shy person, but his insecurites about his body made everything worse.

He had always been convinced that he was a boy. Of course he was, he had to be. He was a male, he had male genitals, he was born and raised as a boy. But when he was twelve, Tyler saw a boy in a clothes shop, but the boy wasn't a boy. He was a girl, he had boobs, but he wore a binder. Tyler was confused. Why could a girl be a boy? Why did she even w _ant_ to be a boy?

He asked his mother about it, but she only shrugged and said she didn't know why she wanted to be a boy when she was born as a girl.

Tyler thought a lot about it, but he didn't understand it, so he stopped thinking about it after a few days. And he forgot about it.

When he was fourteen, he saw a man in a park wearing women's clothes, high heels and lots of make-up. Tyler stared at him with big eyes. The man noticed it and winked at him. Tyler flinched and avoided his gaze. He was scribbling poems in his notebook, when he heard footsteps and the man was standing next to him. Tyler was scared to death, what did he want from him?

The man smiled and pointed at the bench Tyler was sitting on.

"Can I sit down next to you?" he asked and Tyler nodded with big eyes.

The man sat down and crossed his legs like a poilte lady. Tyler noticed he was sitting the exact same way, so he decided to sit like the other boys in his school. Feet next to each other, legs a bit spread. It felt uncomfortable.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Tyler." Tyler whispered.

The man smiled. "I'm Gabriella."

Tyler furrowed his brows, but kept silent. He still didn't know what to think about the man, or, _Gabriella._

Gabriella seemed to notice his confusion. "I'm a drag queen."

"So, you're a woman? Or a man?" Tyler asked shyly.

Gabriella smiled. "I was born as a man, but right now, I'm a woman."

"But why do you look like that?" Tyler asked and bit his lip. He didn't want to seem rude.

Gabriella laughed. "Because I want to. I like it that way. Tell me, Tyler, have you ever seen someone who was a drag queen, or a drag king, before?"

Tyler shook his head.

Gabriella ran her hand through her blond hair. "You know, there are people who are happy with their body, but there are also people who feel misgendered. Some boys feel like girls and some girls feel like boys and some people are genderfluid. And that's okay, but some people don't accept people who are transgender. They think they sin with being another gender and they are afraid of them. Are you afraid of me?"

Tyler shook his head.

Gabriella smiled. "There's no need to be scared."

Tyler looked up in her face. "But…but what if I feel like a boy? What if I don't want to be transgender?" he asked shakily.

Gabriella placed a hand on his arm. "You don't have to be transgender, Tyler. Just be whatever you feel comfortable with. If you want to be a boy, be a boy. I just want to tell you that it's okay to be different and that you don't have to be scared of people who are different."

Tyler sighed in relief. "Good." he smiled shyly. "I like your make-up."

The drag queen laughed. "Thank you."

Tyler looked at his watch. "I need to go home now."

Gabriella nodded and stood up. "Alright. It was nice talking to you, Tyler. See you."

"See ya." Tyler walked home quickly, thinking deeply about the conversation between him and Gabriella.

Now, Tyler was seventeen. And he was still a boy, but he felt like a girl. He knew more about different kinds of genders and sexuality, but he was still a boy. A boy who wore floral clothes, a boy who hid his makeup under his bed, a boy who felt like a stranger in his body.

Tyler got ready for school. He grabbed his black skinny jeans, but his gaze fell on the black skirt he hid under his pants in his closet. He had never worn a skirt in public. He was afraid of the looks, of the talking behind his back, of the insults that people would probably throw at him.

But today, Tyler felt brave. He knew this feeling would disappear as soon as he would enter the schoolbus, but right now, he wanted to be a girl for a day. He wanted to be _himself_ for a day.

Tyler threw the skinny jeans on his bed and pulled the skirt over his tighs. He always shaved his legs. His teammates had laughed at him for it when they saw it. He had to change into his basketball clothes in front of them. It hurt Tyler, but he acted like it did not. He just wanted to be respected, to be tolerated.

Tyler looked into the mirror. He felt pretty, he wore a blue button-up, the black skirt and sneakers. He felt more like a girl. He just wished his chest wouldn't be flat.

Some of classmates had made fun of him being horny, because he looked at the girl's boobs, but it wasn't because of that. He just wanted to be like _them._ But he was the weird kid.

He wanted to apply makeup, but his parents forbid it after his little brother started to cry because he was scared of him. They weren't happy with Tyler's behaviour, they didn't know that he was transgender, they just thought he liked girly things, but they didn't force him to act completely like a boy.

Tyler grabbed his backpack and walked into the kitchen to eat breakfast. His mother raised her eyebrows when she saw Tyler wearing a skirt, but she didn't make a remark. Jay, Tyler's little brother was sitting at the table and eating cereal.

"Mommy, why is Tyler wearing a skirt?" he asked with his mouth full of milk.

"Because he likes to wear women's clothes." she answered and handed Tyler a bowl and a spoon.

"I don't remember buying you a skirt, son." she said.

Tyler bit his lip. "I bought it myself a few weeks ago."

His mother sighed. "Don't come home crying if they bully you. You know the consequences."

Tyler nodded shortly. He sat down and started to eat his cereal, but he wasn't hungry anymore. He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid to go to school. He could change into his skinny jeans and nothing would happen. But Tyler didn't want to hide anymore.

He walked to the school bus in time. The driver made a sound of disgust when he saw Tyler's skirt and Tyler walked by as fast as possible.

"Fuckin' faggot." a boy spat when he walked by and Tyler flinched. He sat down in the last row of the bus and stared at his phone, avoiding eye contact with all the other people on the bus. He decided to text Josh, his best friend, to wait for him before class.

Tyler's hands were shaking when he reached the school. He saw Josh waiting at the gates. The blue-haired boy waved and Tyler walked to him.

Josh dropped his hand when he saw what Tyler was wearing.

"You really did it, huh?" he asked.

Tyler nodded. "Yeah…I just want to be myself. I don't want to hide anymore."

Josh whistled. "It looks good. Don't care about the others. I'm here."

Tyler smiled. "Thank you."

He followed Josh to the first period. The other students looked at Tyler and pointed at him. A few people insulted him on his way to class. Tyler kept his eyes on the ground.

Josh gritted his teeth. "Just ignore them, buddy."

The had english and Tyler was scared of his teacher. Mr. Brewster was very strict, he was catholic and he thought homosexuals were sinners. Tyler knew Mr. Brewster hated him, he often made fun of Tyler's floral clothes. Tyler used to like english, but now he hated it.

Josh sat next to him. Tyler's hands were trembling violently. Josh grabbed them with his own hands and squeezed them.

"I'm scared." Tyler whispered.

"Don't be." Josh whispered back. "I will kick anyone's ass who disrespects you."

"Even Mr. Brewster's?" Tyler asked.

Josh chuckled. "Especially his."

He made Tyler smile.

The bell rang and the teacher entered the room. He greeted the class and started his lesson. He didn't notice that Tyler was wearing a skirt.

After half of the period, Tyler noticed that he needed to pee. He had been so nervous that he had forgotten about his full bladder.

Tyler felt his anxiety build up when he raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Joseph?" The teacher asked impatiently.

"May I go to the restroom?" Tyler asked quietly.

The teacher rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but don't take too long."

Tyler stood up. His knees felt weak when he walked to the door. He grabbed the door handle when he heard Mr. Brewster's voice.

"Mr. Joseph, what the hell are you wearing?"

Tyler swallowed and turned. "A skirt, Sir."

The teacher stared at him. "I think you must've messed up you and your sisters clothes." he laughed.

Tyler took a deep breath. "No, Sir. It's my skirt."

Tyler felt the eyes of his entire class on him. He looked at Josh who gave him thumbs up.

Mr. Brewster cleared his throat. "Mr. Joseph, are you aware of your sex?"

Tyler nodded. "Yes, Sir."

The teacher looked at him. "You need to change." he said sternly.

Tyler knew he looked scared and his voice was shaking when he shook his head. "No. I won't change."

Some students started to whisper. The teacher stared at him angrily. "I do not tolerate this in my class. Change now, Joseph."

Tyler shook his head again. "No." he whispered.

His teacher exploded. "Detention, Joseph!" he yelled. "You're not a girl! Now get the fuck back to your seat!"

Tyler bit his lip. He teared up at his teacher's harsh words. "I'm a girl." He whispered. "I'm not a boy. I'm a girl."

He knew he should shut his mouth, but he couldn't. He just wanted to be accepted.

Mr. Brewster was furious. "A girl?! You're not a fucking girl, Joseph! You're a fucking faggot!" he shouted. "You're sinning with your behaviour! Queers like you go to hell!"

Tyler started to cry. He turned and ran out of the room. He couldn't think clearly. His teacher had humiliated him in front of the whole class.

Tyler ran to the restroom as fast as he could. He locked himself in a stall and sat down on the toilet seat. Sobbing, he pulled his knees to his chest.

He felt disgusting. He _was_ disgusting and now everybody knew he was transgender. Tyler cried loudly until he heard someone knocking at the door.

"Tyler? Are you in there?" It was Josh.

"L-leave me alone." Tyler sobbed.

"Tyler, open the door, please." Josh begged.

"No." Tyler whimpered. "Everybody hates m-me."

"That's not true." Josh said softly. "Mr. Brewster is an asshole, forget about him."

"I'm disgusting." Tyler said and started to cry even more.

"No, you're not." Josh said resolute. "You're perfect just the way you are. I don't care if you're transgender, I am still your best friend."

Tyler sobbed into his knees and left a wet spot on the skirt. "I will n-never be accepted." he whispered.

"Not everybody will accept you, but there are people who love you, people who think you're beautiful no matter if you're a boy or a girl. Look at me, some people say stupid shit because of my hair and my gauges, but I don't care about them. Just be yourself."

Tyler didn't answer and Josh sighed.

"I know being born in the wrong body sucks, but you need to be happy with yourself. It's your life, not theirs."

Tyler kept silent for a few minutes, then he stood up and unlocked the door. Josh saw his red and puffy eyes and pulled him into a hug.

"I can't do it." Tyler whispered.

Josh pressed a kiss on his hair. "Yes, you can. It's hard, but you can do it. It doesn't amtter what other people think about you as long as you're happy."

Tyler buried his head in Josh's shoulder. "Thank you, Josh. Thank you for being my friend."

Josh closed his eyes and sighed. "I promise, we'll do this together. You won't be alone. You'll never be alone."


End file.
